Browsing: Southern African Customs Union (SACU)

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved $49.1 million disbursements to Lesotho to help meet the urgent balance of payment needs stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the disbursement, about $16.5 million is under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) while about $32.6 million from the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI).

The Pandemic comes at a time when the economy of Lesotho was already facing challenges. For several years, Lesotho’s growth has been subdued reflecting a weak regional environment while its government finances have struggled to cope with the volatility of transfers from the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) that account for around half of total revenues.

Despite Madagascar relatively well-developed social assistance framework that partially mitigates the high levels of poverty, unemployment remains high while the population suffers from one of the highest rates of HIV infection in the world.

As a measure to cushion the impact on …